The DPD (Deann, Peggy, & Debbie) group has been great experience during Teaching with Technology course for Lamar. We have been successful in our efforts to complete our tasks on time and get ahead in some of the assignments and course work. For this second week, we met again using Google Docs’ chat menu to collaborate. One advantage our group has is that we have worked together in another course creating a Public Service Announcement (PSA) video. Another advantage is that I have actually met Deann during the Texas Computer Educational Association (TCEA) conference this past year. It was exciting putting a face to someone I’ve been communicating and emailing during the start of my degree plan. In fact, Deann is our leader and provides great support informing us of updates to our Google site through email. We are able to review the changes and make suggestions if necessary.

Our collaborations for this second week have been productive. We were able to begin on our checklist for Week 3 and have agreed which objectives each will be responsible to include in our Universal Design for Learning (UDL) template. The philosophy of UDL is to include rich lessons that incorporate multiple ways of gaining information and knowledge. One of the best ways to impact diverse student learning is through technology’s power and flexibility. Educators need to understand that the “one-size fits all” form of education no longer works, and that everyone’s different and has different learning styles. We have more refining to cover in accommodating our diverse student group that was shared in our scenario. The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) website contains many useful resources which support teaching with technology and addresses individual differences. Looks like this site will be one to share with others for technology-based strategies to help students understand the what, how, and whys of learning.